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Cross-Load Tests & Infrared Images
Our cross-load tests are described in detail here.
To generate the following charts, we set our loaders to auto mode through our custom-made software before trying more than 25,000 possible load combinations with the +12V, 5V and 3.3V rails. The load regulation deviations in each of the charts below were calculated by taking the nominal values of the rails (12V, 5V and 3.3V) as point zero. The ambient temperature was between at 30°C (86°F) to 32°C (89.6°F).
Load Regulation Charts
Efficiency Chart
This is a highly efficient platform, as evidenced by our graph. The sweet spot (with over 94% efficiency) is between 310W and 450W at +12V, while load on the minor rails remains below 25W.
Ripple Charts
Thanks to those special tests, we can see that the +12V rail's ripple suppression isn't so great under all load combinations. For a notable range, ripple on this rail exceeds 100mV! There's probably an oscillation problem happening under the hood, which can be caused by the +12V FETs' switching frequency or filtering caps that do not have the proper impedance.
Infrared Images
We applied half-load for 10 minutes with the PSU's top cover, along with its cooling fan, removed before taking photos with our modified FLIR E4 camera that delivers 320x240 IR resolution (76,800 pixels).
Temperatures inside the ST1500-TI are low thanks to its high efficiency levels. This proves that the fan profile could be much more relaxed without compromising the PSU's reliability.
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